Panic is on the rise in a region of Ukraine currently controlled by Russia.
Fox News reports that the Russian-backed Governor in the area has ordered the evacuation of the place where Europes largest nuclear power plant exists.
Yevgeny Balitsky is the Russian-backed Governor for the region, and he ordered that Russians leave 18 communities on Friday. This included moving away from the areas where most of the workers for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant reside. This move suggests that fighting in the area will likely intensify in the coming days and weeks.
Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said Russia caused a mad panic in the area as thousands of vehicles tried to exit the site simultaneously. The BBC reported that this traffic jam caused backlogs of up to five hours.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi spent the last few months trying to encourage Russian and Ukrainian officials to establish a security zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The risk of a radiation leak is something that both sides must be concerned with.
Grossi warned: The general situation in the area near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous.
He also said: We must act now to prevent the threat of a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequences for the population and the environment. This major nuclear facility must be protected.
More than 1,500 people were evacuated from two cities in the region, said Balitsky. The Associated Press also reported that the Ukrainian General Staff confirmed that the area was being evacuated.
Russian troops took over the plant during their February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but Ukrainian officials continued to run the plant, often under extreme stress from the Russian forces.
A statement from the Ukrainian General staff said: The first to be evacuated are those who accepted Russian citizenship in the first months of the occupation.
The plant must maintain a steady and reliable power supply to keep the towers cooled and avoid a nuclear meltdown disaster. This is highly concerning to those in the region monitoring the situation.
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